kalo (taro)-1  

'Kalo (Colocasia esculenta) was one of the two most important staple crops of the Ancient Hawaiians. There were many varieties under cultivation before contact with Europeans. Kalo has an underground stem which is called a Corm ('i'o). This contains large quantities of Starch. The Leaves are tightly clustered around the shoot apex and there is virtually no stem elongation. Consequently, the leaves are the only visible part of the plant.

Both the Stem and Leaves were eaten. However, the stems were the most important because of the starch they contained.

The Stem and Leaves contain Crystals of Calcium Oxalate. Raphides are lance-like crystals. Druse crystals resemble the mace that was used by medieval knights. Calcium Oxalate causes severe swelling of Epithelial cells in the mouth and throat. Consequently, the crystals need to be dissolved prior to consumption. People probably learned how to do this by experimentation a long time ago. Furthermore, the people may have selected cultivars which were low in calcium oxalate. This is plausible because they grew several hundred varieties & must have done so with a purpose for each.

Poi was the most important food made from kalo stems. The first step involved boiling the stems in water. This probably removed some of the crystals. The next step involved pulverizing the stem pieces on a poi board. Water was periodically added during this process. This destroyed the cells and  liberated the Starch Grains as well as the Crystals. Added water would have helped to dissolve the crystals.
Dr. Isabella Abbott (1992) reports that poi can be eaten at this point which probably means that most of the crystals were dissolved and diluted at this stage. Large amounts of poi were fermented and gradually consumed. The fermentation process probably reduced the number of crystals. Water was added to portions prior to consumption. This would further dilute the calcium oxalate.

Baked stem sections were sometimes eaten. The corm was sometimes shredded and added to coconut cream, wrapped in ti leaves and steamed. This was known as kulolo.

Kalo Leaves were also eaten. These were wrapped in ti leaves and baked. When this includes fish or pork it is called laulau. This remains a popular dish (Abbott, 1992).